Markel Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Young, Budenholzer, D-League

October 6th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thaddeus Young was looking for a change after playing on losing teams with the Sixers and Timberwolves, and while he had a brief taste of success with the Nets late last season, he didn’t hesitate to re-sign with Brooklyn even though the team is taking a step back, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com details. Young, who’s endured family hardship the past two years, has long been seeking stability, Mazzeo writes. “It was a smooth transition. The guys on the team, the front office and the coaching staff were so welcoming that it made me want to stay,” Young said of his initial experience in Brooklyn. “Whatever we asked for, they got it done. It’s frustrating when you’re in an environment where you’re not happy with a lot of things that go on. But for the most part, I’m happy here, and we have a great coach in Lionel Hollins. I think he’s done a helluva job putting us in a position where we can be successful, and I think he’s going to continue to do that.”

Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:

Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer says he’s trying to follow Gregg Popovich‘s lead now that he’s joined the longtime Spurs boss among coaches who also oversee basketball operations for their teams, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Budenholzer added that he has a great deal of trust in new GM Wes Wilcox.
The Heat have officially added Octavio De La Grana and Corey Belser as assistant coaches on new coach Dan Craig‘s staff for their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team announced.
Nets shooting guard Markel Brown, whose $200K partial guarantee jumped to a full guarantee on his $845,059 minimum salary when he wasn’t waived by his contract’s September 29th guarantee date, will miss the remainder of the preseason, the team announced. Brown is suffering from a strained left oblique muscle.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Bender, Wall, Durant, Brown, Lawson

October 1st, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

European phenom Dragan Bender will make his U.S. debut in Chicago tonight for Israel Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv for the first of a pair of exhibitions against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors first reported he was likely to do. The 17-year-old has stirred no shortage of excitement, as international journalist David Pick writes for Bleacher Report. Almost all 30 NBA teams are set to scout the contests, with the Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Bucks among them, sources tell Pick. Hornets GM Rich Cho will be there, too, tweets Jake Fischer of SI Now. The Nuggets, Sixers and Magic have had talks with Maccabi officials about the 7’1″ power forward, Pick also hears. Bender is well ahead of where 2015 No. 4 overall pick Kristaps Porzingis was at the same age, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress told Pick. Givony has Bender as the fifth-best prospect in next year’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him seventh.

“The only thing ’17 years old’ about him is his mustache,” Maccabi coach Guy Goodes said to Pick.

See more on Bender and other NBA news here:

Bender turns 18 next month, so he’ll turn 19 in 2016 and thus be eligible for early entry for the upcoming draft, but it’s not a given that he’ll declare, as Maccabi GM Nikola Vujcic, who also serves as Bender’s guardian, explained to Pick for the same piece. Vujcic suggested to Pick that Bender won’t enter the draft unless he receives a commitment from a team picking in the top three to five selections and suggested that he might decide to stay overseas for a while even if he is drafted.
John Wall says he and Kevin Durant are “really close” and reiterated that he’ll make a recruiting pitch to the former MVP who hits free agency next summer, though he adds that he’ll be cautious not to take an overbearing approach, as the Wizards point guard explains to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The Nets declined to waive Markel Brown by Tuesday’s guarantee date, so his $200K partial guarantee jumped to a full guarantee on his $845,059 minimum salary, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gives the Nets 13 fully guaranteed contracts among the 20 players they have in camp.
The Rockets are trying to minimize their risks with Ty Lawson, having told him that they’ll provide a ride for him to any destination at any time, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Lawson, for whom Houston traded this summer despite two DUI arrests in six months, has been on his best behavior so far, Aldridge notes.

Atlantic Notes: Brown, Jack, Sixers

September 2nd, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Markel Brown picked up an extra $50K in guaranteed salary when he remained on the Nets roster through Tuesday, when his partial guarantee increased from $150K to $200K, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first reported and as is shown on our Schedule of Salary Guarantee Dates. You can view Brooklyn’s full 2015/16 salary cap outlook here.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Despite being regarded as one of the worst teams in the league for the past two seasons, the Sixers are finally ready to be competitive, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. Taylor isn’t predicting that Philly will make the playoffs in 2015/16, but does believe that a 10 win improvement over last season’s total of 18 certainly is within reach, and that the franchise could use that as momentum moving forward. The Basketball Insiders scribe also defends the selection of Joel Embiid with the No. 3 overall pick in 2014, noting the unusually high rate of injury among that draft class, and believes that the center could still end up being regarded as a solid choice by GM Sam Hinkie.
Nets point guard Jarrett Jack isn’t worried about those who doubt his ability to run a team and take over as the starter for Deron Williams, Mitch Abramson of The New York Daily News writes. “I’ve started in New Orleans,” Jack said. “And I’ve had countless other times- I started in Toronto. I’ve started in a few places so we’re just going to have to wait and see. Just answering questions is not going to show or prove anything on my behalf, so I’m just waiting until I can show and prove.” Williams and the franchise reached a buyout arrangement in July.
Jack, who was teammates with Andrea Bargnani in Toronto, believes that the oft-injured forward can have a productive season in Brooklyn if he can remain healthy, Abramson also relays. “Yeah, me and Dre [Bargnani] played together in Toronto,” Jack said. “So I know the type of player he’s capable of being, the talent he possesses. I think just the thing with him man, hopefully his health. Hopefully he can stay healthy throughout the course of the season and be that player that people thought he was when they drafted him No. 1 overall in Toronto.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nets Rumors: Boatright, King, Brown, Value

July 25th, 2015 at 10:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ryan Boatright has improved his chances of making the Nets with a strong summer league performance, according to Don Amore of The Hartford Courant. After being passed over in this year’s draft, the rookie from Connecticut signed with Brooklyn for $1.4MM over two years, with $75K guaranteed if he stays on the roster past August 1st. Boatright, who is hoping for an invitation to training camp, played in both the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues, averaging 14.1 points, 2.2 assists and 23 minutes per game. When Brooklyn waived Deron Williams, that may have opened a space for Boatright. Coach Lionel Hollins said the rookie is a “candidate” for the third point guard slot, but added, “I don’t know who else we’ll bring to camp.”

There’s more news out of Brooklyn:

GM Billy King accomplished nearly all of his goals for the offseason, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. He was able to re-sign Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, lessen the burden of Williams’ contract, avoid the luxury tax and make the team younger and more athletic. By settling with Williams for $27.5MM of the $43.3MM that was owed to him, Brooklyn was able to save an estimated $40MM to $50MM in luxury tax payments for next season and create an additional $17MM in cap space for next offseason. Mazzeo estimates the Nets could have $40MM in cap space next summer, enough to chase the league’s top free agents.
Hollins raved about the summer league performance of Markel Brown, according to Kathryn Przybyla of NBA.com. The second-year player was the team’s top scorer in Las Vegas, averaging 15.8 points in five games. “This year he came out, made an impact on the game, made shots and made plays,” Hollins said. “That’s how you get noticed, by coming out and helping your team win.” Brown is under the Nets’ control through the 2016/17 season.
The Nets are ranked No. 24 on Forbes’ list of the most valuable sports franchises, mainly due to the league’s new TV contracts with ESPN and TNT, according to Norman Oder of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report. The Nets are valued at $1.5 billion after failing to make the Top 50 list last year when they were valued at $770MM, Oder continues. That’s why it’s a good time for minority owner Forest City Enterprises to be selling the 20% share of the team owned by Nets Sports & Entertainment.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Wizards, Canaan, Nets

July 16th, 2015 at 9:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards let the remaining $2,252,089 of their Trevor Ariza trade exception expire Wednesday. The exception, gained when Washington signed-and-traded Ariza to the Rockets, was originally worth $8,579,089. The Wizards used most of that initial amount to acquire Kris Humphries and Ramon Sessions in separate deals. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Markel Brown added another $50K in partially guaranteed money, now totaling $150K, to his $845,059 contract for the 2015/16 season when he remained on the Nets‘ roster through Wednesday, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates shows.
As a result of remaining on the Sixers‘ roster through Wednesday, Isaiah Canaan‘s 2015/16 salary of $947,276 became fully-guaranteed.
Quincy Miller picked up a $50K partial guarantee on his $981,348 salary this season with the Nets, courtesy of him sticking on the Nets‘ roster through Wednesday.
Forbes magazine estimated the value of the Nets to be $1.5 billion, which is a higher figure than the team’s internal valuation, which is $1.3 billion, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays (via Twitter).
Heat small forward James Ennis said that the combination of Miami’s packed frontcourt and his non-guaranteed deal has placed a significant amount of stress on him, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. The 25-year-old made 62 appearances for the Heat last season, averaging 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 17.0 minutes per game.
Tobias Harris‘ four-year deal with the Magic will pay him $16MM this coming season, $17.2MM in 2016/17, $16MM in the third year, and $14.8MM during the 2018/19 campaign, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Harris, Barea, Matthews

July 1st, 2015 at 11:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jamal Crawford (Clippers), Jon Leuer (Suns) and Anthony Tolliver (Pistons) had their salaries fully guaranteed when they remained on their respective rosters Tuesday, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates indicates, along with Robert Sacre (Lakers) and Chris Kaman (Blazers), as we previously noted. Matt Barnes (Grizzlies) joins that group today, while Langston Galloway (Knicks) and Markel Brown (Nets) pick up partial guarantees of $220K and $100K, respectively. Cory Jefferson was originally thought to have a partial guarantee coming his way if he stuck on the Nets roster through today, but he’ll remain non-guaranteed until July 15th, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league:

The Magic would not be willing to match a max salary offer sheet to restricted free agent forward Tobias Harris, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe relays (Twitter link). The Hawks could be a potential suitor, though Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders noted previously that Atlanta’s level of interest in Harris was dependent on how the team’s pursuit of its own free agents, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap, went. Millsap is reportedly set to ink a three-year, $58MM pact with Atlanta, and Carroll is on his way to the Raptors after inking a four-year, $60MM contract.
Free agent point guard J.J. Barea is leaning toward signing with the Heat, David Aldridge of TNT tweets. Barea appeared in 77 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 7.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 17.7 minutes per contest.
The Raptors and the Mavericks are still battling over free agent Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Toronto is still in on Matthews despite signing Carroll, Stein notes.
The Wizards have expressed interest in free agent swingman Alan Anderson, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Billy King On Lopez, Young, Trades, Teletovic

May 6th, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets pulled together for a late season run to the playoffs and pushed the top-seeded Hawks in the opening round, but this wasn’t a successful season, GM Billy King said today to reporters, including Newsday’s Roderick Boone, at his end-of-season press conference (Twitter link). The GM didn’t address rumors that he’s close to an extension, but he had many more revelatory comments, as we’ll run down here. All links go to Twitter, unless otherwise noted:

The team’s long-term plan is to build around Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, King said, according to Andy Vasquez of The Record. Lopez and Young haven’t made decisions about their respective player options yet, but King said the Nets want them back regardless of whether they opt in or not, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
King said the Nets explored trading every player on the roster at some point during the season, Boone notes, and King wouldn’t rule out trades when he added that the team would continue to look into all possibilities with Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, observes Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game.
Brooklyn, slated to pick 29th and 41st overall in June, will continue an annual tradition of trying to trade up, King said, as Kharpertian relays, but the GM insisted he’ll value draft assets more highly than in the past. “I don’t expect us to be trading any of [our future draft picks],” King said, according to Kharpertian. “We’ve done that.”
The Nets will extend the more than $4.21MM qualifying offer required to match competing NBA offers for Mirza Teletovic in free agency this summer, King confirmed, nonetheless adding that the market will dictate the forward’s next deal, as Bontemps notes.
The team would like a new deal with Alan Anderson, King said, according to Lenn Robbins of Nets.com, but the GM also said that the swingman may need a procedure on his ankle to deal with bone spurs, Bontemps observes.
The goal is to avoid the luxury tax next season, and the repeat-offender penalties that would come with it, but the Nets will stay above the tax line if it’s the right thing to do, according to King, as Kharpertian relays. That’s similar to what owner Mikhail Prokhorov said last month (non-Twitter link), but it conflicts with what Bontemps has heard (non-Twitter link) from sources who’ve said the team has no interest in remaining a taxpayer.
King said the Nets can’t keep turning the roster over from year to year and added that internal improvement is necessary, Boone notes. King pointed to rookies Bojan Bogdanovic, Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson as players who can be parts of the rotation going forward, according to Bontemps.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Brown, Pistons

April 2nd, 2015 at 4:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks have thought about trading their first-round pick, but they haven’t given it much consideration, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears. New York has canvassed other teams about their feelings on the strength of this year’s draft, as most front offices do, but that’s the extent of it, according to Deveney, who adds that teams rarely give much thought to trading lottery picks until the lottery takes place.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Knicks president Phil Jackson is expected to prioritize young free agents this summer, as Deveney writes in the same piece, figuring the Knicks will make Brandon Knight among their targets.
Nets rookie Markel Brown‘s improved play has gained him coach Lionel Hollins‘ confidence, as well as cut into the playing time of teammate Bojan Bogdanovic, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post writes. “When you start leaving Markel out there, the minutes have to be skewed for somebody,” Hollins said. “It’s nothing more than that. I have to kind of manage the game as I see it in that moment. It’s all a part of utilizing the group we have. It’s nothing personal. It doesn’t have to do with anybody playing poorly. It’s the way I see it. It’s part of my job, and I have to be the final decision on it.” Brown, the No. 44 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, is averaging 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per contest.
The Pistons are pleased with how their relationship has gone this first year with the Grand Rapids Drive, their new D-League affiliate, Peter J. Wallner of MLive.com writes. “Every year will be different,” said Detroit GM Jeff Bower. “The makeup of your Pistons roster will dictate how much crossover we’ll have. The younger the team, the more the need for minutes with the Drive. Having gone through it the first year now, we have a baseline sense of it and it is only going help us with our planning in the future. I thought that was a strength going into the year, and it’s a strength as we wrap up. Our comfort level with knowing what, for example, Quincy Miller would find when he got here [Grand Rapids] was very high.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: McGee, ‘Melo, Thomas, Brown

February 23rd, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers don’t want a buyout with JaVale McGee, and he doesn’t want one either, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, coach Brett Brown indicated that the center has to prove his worth.

“We are coming into this whole thing with an open mind,” Brown said. “He is around a bunch of genuine people, coaches that care. That will give him every chance to keep moving and to be as good as he can be. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But it’s not going to be on us.”

McGee, who’s making $23.25MM combined this year and next, has four points and five rebounds in 24 total minutes across two games with the Sixers so far. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

The reason that Phil Jackson estimates that Carmelo Anthony will be out of action for four to six months instead of the eight-week timetable Anthony mentioned previously is because of a partial tear in Anthony’s left patellar tendon, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks star played with that tear most of the season, according to Berman.
The first call Danny Ainge placed to a free agent this past July was to Isaiah Thomas, Ainge told reporters, including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Of course, the Celtics lost out on Thomas this summer but wound up with him via Thursday’s trade with the Suns.
Lionel Hollins has consistently expressed enthusiasm about rookie Markel Brown in spite of his lack of playing time for the Nets, but now injuries to others and a stylistic shift have Brown seeing more minutes, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines. The shooting guard drafted 44th overall this past June is without guaranteed salary for next season.

Atlantic Notes: Wallace, Smith, Sixers, D-League

January 8th, 2015 at 5:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Gerald Wallace openly criticized the Nets‘ 2013 trade with Boston, where the franchise sacrificed three first-round picks for Paul Pierce, who is no longer with the team, and Kevin Garnett, who is now a shadow of his former self, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “It was one of those stories of a get-rich-quick scheme. You either hit it big or you don’t,” Wallace said. “They took a gamble. It backfired.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets have recalled Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson from the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, the team announced. This was the initial D-League jaunt of the season for both players.
In a statement that may not please even the most patient of Sixers fans, coach Brett Brown said that Philadelphia’s rebuilding process could take “three to five more years,” Tom Moore of Calkins Media reports (Twitter link).
Former Knick J.R. Smith wasn’t surprised by the trade that sent him to Cleveland, but he wasn’t thrilled about the timing of it, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “The way it was done caught me off guard, warming up and stuff like that,” Smith said. “I thought that was a poor decision and then I seen what happened to Dion Waiters where he literally got his name called for the starting lineup, [then] I thought my situation wasn’t so bad.”
Smith also commented on the difficulties that the Knicks have had since team president Phil Jackson came aboard, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “Everybody in the building was pretty much walking on eggshells, so it’s kind of hard to prosper that way, especially when you’re not accustomed to it,” Smith said. “But I’m sure they’ll get it right. I mean, it’s just difficult learning a new system, a new way to play. The whole culture over there pretty much changed. I mean, a lot of guys have certain routines when they get on the court, when they don’t get on the court, and all of that was so flip-flopped and it kind of caught everybody off guard.”
Knicks coach Derek Fisher didn’t take issue with Smith’s comments, Begley notes. “I think we’ve been very frank about the fact that everyone was learning how to work together and become a team and become a group. Whether that’s eggshells or whether that’s just getting to learn how to win just depends on the person that you’re talking to,” Fisher said.